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Joey Boots has made a niche photographing himself around New York City.A Howard Stern regular who photographed National Guardsman on duty at Penn Station� now has a date in court.
MTA cops slapped him with a criminal summons Wednesday for interfering with traffic.
Joseph Bassolino-known as Joey Boots-likes to jump in front of TV reporters doing live street broadcasts and yell "Bababooey!"
In this case, he said he was perfectly within his legal rights to photograph the soldiers near the LIRR entrance on Seventh Ave.
"I was keeping my distance to not interfere," said Bassolino, who goes around the city photographing and documenting "all the interesting things I see about the city."
MTA spokesman Salvatore Arena said photography is allowed in the station, "but you are not allowed to pursue your subject in an harassing manner."
"However, based on a video posted on YouTube, we will be looking into the conduct of the police officers," he said.
Bassolino, 44, who said he's on 100% service-related disability, claimed "thousands of followers" at his on-line website joeyboots.com.
"I felt that this was an interesting thing to photograph - the fact that we have armed soldiers with M16s on the sidewalks of New York City."
Bassolino said when the soldiers turned their backs on him, he walked around to the front and kept clicking away.
"A soldier approached me and said 'You can't photograph us.' I turned on my videocam and he walked away."
A short time later, he said MTA cops approached him - "one called me a creep" - and charged me with interfering with traffic."
He said he initially videotaped the cops before he was ordered to put the pocket video camera away.
Bassolino said he now has an Aug. 3 date court date.
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